Ban on Mailing Tobacco Signed by Obama

The U.S. Postal Service will no longer deliver tobacco products by mail under legislation signed into law this week by President Barack Obama.

“Enactment of this legislation is a milestone in the fight to keep kids from smoking and prevent tax evasion that costs taxpayers billions each year,” said Matthew L. Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

The Buffalo News reported April 1 that the new Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act is expected to gut the tax-free, mail-order tobacco business run by the Seneca tribe of upstate New York. “The president of the United States invited Native American leaders to Washington, D.C., in November and looked us in the eye as a sign of good faith in his pledge to protect federal treaties,” said Seneca Nation President Barry E. Snyder Sr. “Now, four months later, he has betrayed that promise.”

The PACT act also requires online cigarette sellers to pay all federal, state, local and tribal taxes and affix tax stamps before delivering cigarettes to customers, register with their state government, and check IDs of online purchasers.

The law was overwhelmingly approved in both the House and Senate.